Denmark forgives Somalia’s $8.5 million debt in bilateral relief deal
Somalia has secured another step in its long debt-relief process after Finance Minister Bihi Iman Cige and Danish Ambassador Steen Sonne Andersen signed an agreement that eliminates Somalia’s 60 million Danish kroner debt to Denmark, about $8.5 million. The supplied Horseed Media report says the signing took place on Monday and comes on the back of broader international efforts to reduce Somalia’s external debt burden.
The bilateral agreement follows the March 2024 Paris Club decision that opened the door for Somalia to negotiate separately with creditor countries. In the excerpt, the deal is described as part of a sequence that has already included agreements with the United States, which held the largest share of Somalia’s debt, and Japan. The article frames Denmark’s move as another milestone in Somalia’s attempt to normalize its financial position after years of unsustainable obligations.
Finance Minister Bihi Ege praised the debt relief as evidence that reform and negotiations were paying off. The quote in the supplied text says the “fruits of the financial reform program and the achievements of the debt relief process have come true,” and he thanked the Danish government for being a “valuable friend” in Somalia’s financial development.
The report places the deal within the Heavily Indebted Poor Countries Initiative, or HIPC, run through the International Monetary Fund, and says the broader program has facilitated forgiveness of more than $5 billion in Somali external debt. That larger number is important context, but the packet does not provide independent confirmation of every figure, so the safe core of the story is narrower: Somalia has signed a bilateral write-off with Denmark and the amount is $8.5 million.
The article also says Denmark will support Somalia beyond debt relief through an $18 million aid package spread across four years. According to the excerpt, the assistance will focus on livelihoods, self-reliance and displacement. Taken together, those measures show that the relationship is not limited to debt accounting; it is also part of a wider development partnership.
What the packet does not show is the full text of the agreement, any repayment conditions that were removed, or whether there were linked policy commitments beyond the debt cancellation and aid package. Even so, the facts in the supplied report are clear enough to establish the core development: Denmark has written off Somalia’s bilateral debt, and Somalia is continuing to chip away at the liabilities that have long constrained its economy.
